Christmas Do.

Sue and I went to the Christmas wind up party for the Activity Centre today. The Activity Centre is attached to the hospital and is an outreach service for the elderly and disadvantaged people of the town . Anybody can attend any day of the week. The women who run it are always friendly and arranging outings and activities, like cooking, sing a longs, cards and shopping trips etc. Sue and I don't go to the centre for any of the activities, except the church service some Tuesdays. This is held next door in the independent aged care facility.We always go in and say hullo to everyone, though. We never seem to think of going to the centre during the week. Not because we are snobs, it just does not occur to us, as we seem to find plenty to entertain ourselves with.
We were seated at the back of the dining room at one of the pubs, and it turned out to be hotter than forecast. The air conditioning did not reach to our end of the room, and it was a bit muggy.
I was seated next to a lady I used to see when I attended the Anglican church, and who I have not seen for years. She is 96 and looks about 70. Next to to her was another elderly friend I do not see much of, either. It was nice to catch up with both of them.
Across from me, was Alma, another older lady I have not seen for years. She spoke to me, but called me Denise. I said I was not Denise, and she said, "You used to be." I tried not to burst in to fits of giggles, and said "No, I am Susan." She asked me who my husband is, and Sue said "She is married to Neville." Alma said. I thought you were married to Peter." I said, Denise was married to Peter, though she is not married to him any more.
That made my day!
We had to sing some Christmas carols, which was nice, then we finished off with Jingle Bells! I did not join in with that one. Then one of the women gave us a piece of newspaper and told us we had to make a Christmas tree out of it. Mine was a dismal failure, as were many others. If we had been given scissors it would have been a different kettle of fish.
Then, we had to endure the childish custom of Father Christmas giving out gifts. We each had to bring a $5.00 gift, and say if it was for a man or woman. The average age of those present would be about 80!
Then we sang Happy Birthday to a lady who goes to the centre every Tuesday and bakes pasties. These are frozen and sold at various times, to raise extra monies for equipment etc.
All this before lunch. When the meal was served, it was not very appertizing and was cold. It was supposed to be hot, as it was roast turkey etc. The beans were over cooked and disintegrated when one tried to eat them. Dessert was a choice of Plum Pudding with cream and custard or Pavlova. I chose the pudding, as I thought it was the lesser of the two evils, and was disappointed as it was out of a tin and dry as dust. It looks as though I will be living of lettuce leaves for a few days to compensate.
There were two raffles drawn today. One was for a beautifully decorated Christmas cake. The lady next to me won that. Then there was the usual pub raffle run on Wednesdays. I won a $10.00 voucher from the pub. Nice.
On the way out, I was given a piece of the Christmas cake that the birthday girl cut, and it was as dry as dust, too. Whoever made it should take lessons. It had not been given time to mature.
All in all, it was quite a pleasant day. I never get invited to anything like this,so thought it would be nice to get out for a change. It only cost me $10.00 for the meal, which is what it usually costs on Wednesday, as it is Senior's day.
Merry Christmas everyone. May the peace of The Lord be with you always.